Building Blocks
by Engage
Summary: Brock confides in Reba after a huge fight with his wife. Just some nice, happy RebaBrock fluff to lift your spirits, nothing more.


Hey everyone! I thought I'd write a Reba fic! It's kind of a different thing for me, so be nice. (quite a stretch from the usual sci-fi) but I'm a fan of the show and I'm damn angry that Reba and Brock didn't get together!

Disclaimer: Don't own Reba, if i did there would be quiiiite a few changes...

Rating: T to be safe

Summary: Brock confides in Reba after a huge fight with his wife.

Remember, cookies for all the reviewers!

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Reba Hart was exhausted. 

This was one Monday that she was glad to put behind her. Never had getting out of bed seemed like more of a condemning task. And when that was done, there was no reward. No, the kids had to be prepped for school, dishes had to be done, and dinner had to be made. How much more of this was she expected to take?

But all that was over for today and Reba was free. Her relief was positively monumental. Yes, she was free to get in her PJs and raid the cookie jar. To lounge on the couch and—

"Mom! I need your help!"

_Crap._

As it turned out, Reba's youngest Jake (god bless him) had a _socials_ project that he had conveniently forgotten about until this very moment. And as it turned out, he couldn't do it by himself. Great.

"I have to build a log cabin out of Popsicle sticks, Mom."

Reba sighed; clearly indulging in her much deserved rest was not an option right now, or any time soon for that matter. "Why didn't you tell me earlier, honey?"

"I forgot."

Reba let out a moan, abandoned her beloved couch and trudged into the kitchen, where Jake had already laid out the glue and the Popsicle sticks. For that she was tremendously grateful.

And so it began. Jake would squeeze the glue onto the little wooden sticks, and Reba would arrange them. All the while Reba wondered to herself exactly what kind of educational value a Popsicle stick house could possibly have. None the less, the miniature cabin building went on very smoothly. Sure, it collapsed a time or two along the way, but Reba was pretty sure that by the end of it all she would have the art of Popsicle stick architecture down pat.

"Okay Jakie almost done. Hand me another one." Reba held out her hand but was not rewarded with a sticky piece of building material. Little Jake had fallen asleep on duty, something Reba wished she had the option to do right now.

She glared at her dozing son for a few seconds longer and set to work on her own, the prospect of a nice, comfy bed motivating her.

Just as the cabin had been completed, the back door creaked open. Standing just outside was her charming ex husband Brock. No doubt with a problem that Reba was going to have to fix.

_Ugh._ "What the heck do you want, Brock?"

Brock was staring at the floor looking slightly hurt. "Barbara-Jean and I had another fight, a big one."

"Oh-- I—I'm sorry Brock, I didn't mean to snap like that." Brock and his wife were going through quite the painful separation at the moment. Everyone in the family had been on edge lately, wondering what was going to happen. It was probably best to be somewhat civil.

For now.

"It's fine, I understand, I just needed someone to talk to. What are you doing?"

Reba smiled sheepishly, "Well Jake and I were building a log cabin."

"I see. Well Barbra-Jean and I were--"

"Talk while you clean, Brock." If he was going to keep Reba up, then he might as well be of some use.

Obviously trying to avoid any argument, Brock complied and began wordlessly collecting the Popsicle sticks that had fallen on the floor. Reba felt a pang of guilt. He was evidently suffering more than she had thought.

The fact that she was always helping her ex husband with his personal issues was ridiculous, but she knew that she was about to give in. Again. Maybe she just liked the idea of being a part (albeit small) of his life again. Best not go there tonight, that was dangerous territory. "Allright Brock," she shook her sleeping son awake. "Jake honey, why don't you go up to bed now?"

The little boy groaned stood up, still half asleep. He murmured a quick "Thanks mom." and gave a weak smile to his father before _very_ slowly trudging out of the kitchen and off to his bedroom. Reba looked after him enviously. At least someone was going to get some sleep tonight.

"Tell me what happened." She took Jake's spot at the kitchen table and motioned for Brock to sit down next to her.

For a second, he looked skeptical, but soon began recounting the evening's events. "Well it started out all right. Barbra-Jean and I were just having one of our weekly dinners. We got to talking about what we've been doing in our time apart from each other. She told me that she'd been spending a lot of time with Henry, and I told her that I've been spending lots of time-" Brock paused and directed his gaze at the kitchen table

"over here, talking to you." He mumbled. "Then it turned into a huge shouting match, she's trying to get through to the lawyer's office as we speak. I even went so far as to-" He stopped abruptly, obviously he didn't want Reba to know what he had said next. When he looked up his ex wife was glaring at him. "Reba, why are you looking at me like that?"

Reba had seen it coming from a mile away. Sometimes Brock just didn't know when to shut his mouth. "Brock, you're the one who had the secret affair, remember? You should know better than I do that some things are just better left unsaid!"

"Why do you always have to bring that up, Reba?"

Reba headed towards the sink and began mindlessly scrubbing a salad bowl. "Because Brock, I… oh never mind."

"I _am_ sorry, Reba," Brock joined her at the sink, causing Reba to drop her bowl, prompting a huge clash. "and if I could go back and fix everything, I would."

"No you wouldn't Brock." She couldn't let herself believe it. That would lead to a whole world of painful little what if's and regrets. "What about Henry?"

He didn't say anything. There wasn't really anything he _could _have said in that moment, she understood perfectly. Reba ought to have been angry at him for putting her through all that pain, but it was late and it was Monday. She didn't have it in her to be angry right now, and that in itself was risky.

That's when it happened. That's when he began to move closer, his blue eyes paralyzing her. Of course she _tried_ to put an end to it. (if you count that brief moment of hesitation she felt before shuffling closer herself.) She was about to do something she had vowed never to do, and somehow it just didn't register in her mind.

Their lips finally met for the first time in 4 years. It was almost as if time had reversed. He had the same skin and the same old cologne he had always worn. She had chosen that cologne for him herself more than twenty years ago. It felt perfectly right even though it was so wrong.

But that was just it, this was _wrong._

"Brock." Reba pulled away, her eyes filling up with tears. Damn it. This wasn't fair. Why did he always do this? She tried to turn away but Brock caught her arm.

"Reba, wait." Something made her stay.

"This… between us… it's gonna work one day, I promise."

Reba smiled through the tears that were threatening to spill from her eyes. She knew it was true, and was willing to wait. They both needed time. Barbra-Jean needed time. Once things settled down, they could finally pick up where they had left off four years ago. Whatever happened next was manageable, now that she had a promise.

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Please R&R :) 


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